U.S. District Judge M. Christina Armijo on Thursday denied a request from eight nonprofit providers that asked the court to lift the state’s suspension of Medicaid payments for mental health and substance abuse services to needy New Mexicans.

Five mental health providers from Arizona have signed contracts to provide mental health services in New Mexico.

This was the first time La Frontera had been contracted by the government of another state, the CEO said. A contract between La Frontera and the Human Services Department, seen by The Taos News, was signed by Ranieri June 18 and the department’s general counsel June 19.

“Every time we have done this, we were approached by the other company,” Ranieri said.

La Frontera has already established a spinoff in the state, however, known as La Frontera New Mexico. Ranieri said the group had already received or was in the process of securing the certifications and licenses necessary to operate in the state. None of the organization’s Arizona-based clinical staff would practice in New Mexico, he added.

Matthew Reichbach has blogged about New Mexico politics since 2006. Matthew was a co-founder of New Mexico FBIHOP with his brother and part of the original hirings at the groundbreaking website the New Mexico Independent. Matthew has covered events such as the Democratic National Convention and Netroots Nation.
In addition to politics, Matthew is an avid sports fan, especially of the Los Angeles Dodgers, and TV fan.